Habs Get a Huge Win Against Senators

When it came to needing to come up with big saves, Fowler never failed the Habs once on Wednesday night as he prevented the Senators from scoring on great danger opportunities, including 2 massive steps in the final minute to hold on to the late 3rd period lead. He also kept the Habs in the game when they were struggling to get anything going early in the 2nd period.

One thing that definitely helps Fowler stand out among the other goaltenders on the Habs is that he excels at positioning himself and rarely gets caught out of position, allowing him to make desperation saves. It also helps that when he makes a mistake, he lets it go and focuses on the next play to bounce back. This is something that combined with his calmness and positioning gives him the tools to continue growing into one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. At the end of the night, Fowler was a difference maker, which gave the Habs a very important win.

The Canadiens opened the scoring on the power play just 1:16 into the game after Senators forward Dylan Cozens took a goaltender interference penalty 30 seconds after puck drop. The play that led to the goal started with captain Nick Suzuki sending a no-look pass from along the boards to Demidov, who would then patiently slide the puck over to the other side of the net to Juraj Slafkovsky for an easy tap-in goal to open the scoring. With his goal, Slafkovsky officially became the all-time leader in points for players under the age of 22, passing Henri Richard with his 164 career points. Demidov’s assist on the goal was his 50th point of the season, giving the Habs 5 players to hit that mark, which ties the Vegas Golden Knights for most in the NHL.

Late in the 1st period, the Senators would respond with a power play goal of their own as a puck would redirect off Drake Batherson’s foot and into the net. It was under review because they needed to determine if he had any kicking motion that led to the goal, and it was concluded that there was no kicking motion. Initially, it was thought that Fowler had made a cross-crease save on Batherson; the replay showed the puck just crossed the line before the Senators forward’s stick ended up deflecting it out. Despite the craziness of the play, the game was all tied up.

That power play led to momentum for the Senators as they had a few great chances in the final minutes of the opening frame. It would eventually pay off for the Senators, as at 1:50 after they tied the game, they would get a 2-1 lead. After Alexandre Carrier failed to clear the zone with a soft dump-out attempt that Claude Giroux knocked down and sent over to Batherson at the side of the net for a great opportunity that he would end up scoring on by driving his body to the other side of the net before beating Fowler. One reason that the puck even beat Fowler is that he attempted a poke check that didn’t work, which made him get caught as Batherson made it around him for the goal. Originally it was believed that Tim Stutzle was the one who scored, but it was later deemed that Batherson had his 2nd of the game as he touched it before it crossed the line. The Senators would take this lead into the 1st intermission.

Both Senators’ goals in the first period came very tightly around the net, with one small error from Fowler on the 2nd goal. However, he wouldn’t look back afterwards as he shut the door for the rest of the night. This was especially the case during the 2nd period, where many great danger shots were directed towards him, but he managed to keep the puck out and keep the Habs within striking distance. This would continue for the majority of the 2nd period until the Canadiens were able to eventually get the tying goal. In fact, one of Fowler’s biggest saves came just before the Habs tied the game at 2.

After the Habs missed a good scoring chance by hitting the post, the Senators forward Michael Amadio would get a breakaway chance that would be stopped by Fowler before Shane Pinto missed the net on the follow-up. This led to the Canadiens going down ice and setting up the eventual game-tying goal.

After Cole Caufield missed Wednesday’s game due to an illness, Alexandre Texier came back to the lineup for the first time in 6 games to fill the Habs’ leading goal scorer’s spot on the top line alongside Slafkovsky and Suzuki. Despite being a healthy scratch for the previous 5 games, Texier immediately made his impact felt by creating chances with his linemates. It was also Texier who tied the game at the end of the 2nd period with a beautiful wrap-around that snuck under Linus Ullmark’s pads and in for his 8th goal of the season. While the Habs were without their top goal scorer, his replacement managed to fill his shoes pretty well for one single night. As a result, once Caufield is feeling better, it may be hard to remove Texier from the lineup, and someone like Brendan Gallagher or Zack Bolduc, who hasn’t scored in 25 games, may need to come out instead.

Despite being outplayed for the majority of the 2nd period, the Canadiens were able to come out of it with the only goal and start the 3rd period all squared up at 2. This led to the game going back and forth, where neither team opened things up to avoid costly mistakes.

Alex Newhook would come into the offensive zone with the puck and fire it on Ullmark, who would make a save but leave a juicy rebound in front of the net. Demidov would beat everyone to the puck and put it in the back of the net on the rebound to put the Habs up 3-2, coming in clutch with the eventual game-winning goal. Demidov now has 51 points and is tied once again for the rookie lead in points with Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks.

After the Habs got the lead, it was still back and forth with both teams trading chances. However, the Canadiens would need their goaltender to stand tall and close things out with 2 massive saves in the final minute. Fowler was up for the task, and he would secure his 5th NHL win in the process.

The future is now in Montreal as the rookies Fowler and Demidov led the way with their performances to help the Habs win a very important matchup for playoff implications. It will only get better with all these young guys who are progressing in the lineup.

For the second time this season, the Habs have won both games in a back-to-back, with the first being against the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers in January. The Habs will now be off until Saturday night when they host the San Jose Sharks at the Bell Centre.

What were your thoughts on Fowler’s performance on Wednesday?